Pakistan’s High Commissioner Abdul Basit has hinted at a softening stance on Kulbhushan Jadhav by saying that there was a scope for rethinking in the case.Basit claimed that Jadhav had some steps to go in an appeal process in Pakistan. The High Commissioner said he would be able to appeal for clemency first to Army Chief General Qamar Bajwa and President Mamnoon Husain if his appeal was rejected by the Court of Appeals. “So there is room for a rethink there.”

Talking about the process in the International Court of Justice, Basit said, “We would like this process to be over quickly, but until (it does), we are committed.”Recently, Pakistan had issued a statement clarifying that Jadhav will not be executed till he “exhausts all his mercy appeals” and according to the law he has two appeals left, one with the Pakistani Army Chief and the other with the President of Pakistan.

Speaking about the other trial, of Lashkar-e-Taiba chief and convicted Mumbai 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed’s detention, Basit told The Hindu that the Pakistan government was “trying its best” to keep Saeed under (house) arrest and several organisations he represents were under “observation” for now.In April, a military court in Pakistan had sentenced Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav to death for alleged involvement in “spying” and “subversive activities”.

Jadhav was arrested reportedly from Balochistan after he entered from Iran.